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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Why I Want To Coach In England – Guardiola

Former Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola, has once again reiterated his desire to coach a club in the English Premier League.

The Spaniard, who have been on a one-year hiatus from football, has already declared that he will be returning in the summer.

In a message recorded for the Football Association’s 150th anniversary, the 41-year-old admitted he was eager to test himself in England for several reasons.

“As a player, I couldn’t realise my dream to play there,” Guardiola said. “But I hope in the future I have a challenge to be a coach or a manager there and feel the experience of all the coaches and players that have been there.

“It is unique, to play in that league. I want to feel the supporters, the environment, the media and the style of the players.

“I am still young, just 41, so I hope in the future I could train there and enjoy that. I have always found English football very fascinating. The support of the home team is amazing.

“In Italy, Latin people will support you when you are playing and when you lose, they kill you. In England, I’m always surprised people always support everything and that is nice. That’s why I hope to have the challenge to train there.”

Guardiola had his first experience of English football, when Barcelona defeated Sampdoria in the 1992 European Cup, before he led the Catalans to the same trophy in 2009.

“I had the opportunity to play two finals at Wembley and that’s why my relationship with England is pretty close,” he said. “I played there twice, once as a player when I was 19 and it was my first Champions League as a player, as Barcelona finally won the Champions League. It was a huge honour to play at the old Wembley.

“When I was manager of Barcelona, for our second Champions League in three years, it was a real pleasure to play in the new Wembley.”